Product Description
The eleven playsall that have come down to us out of a total of over forty staged by our author in the course of his long careerdeal with the events of the daythe incidents and personages of contemporary Athenian city lifeplaying freely over the surface of things familiar to the audience and naturally provoking their interest and rousing their prejudicesdealing with contemporary local gossipcontemporary art and literatureand above all contemporary politicsdomestic and foreign. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Worth every penny, cause it's free
Aristophanes is one of the greats of western literature.His plays (all of which are comedies) are still funny 2,300 years after they were written.So it's good to see that there is a free Kindle version available.But you may want to consider spending a little money when getting the plays.

This book contains the following plays:
- The Knights
- The Acharnians
- Peace
- Lysistrata
- The Clouds

The last two plays are included in the Great Books of the Western World's Ten Year Reading plan for year one.

So what's wrong with this book?Well, basically it's a straight from text to Kindle conversion.There is no live Table of Contents.So, in a book which is really a compilation of five plays, you can't actually go read a specific play.This isn't really useful in a compilation. ... Read more

Product Description
English translation of Aristophanes popular Greek comedy in which the mythological figure of Dionysus seeks to bring the great dramatist Euripides from Hades, encountering another great Classical playwright, Aeschylus. Includes background material on the historical and cultural context of this work, suggestions for further reading, and notes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Immortal Comedy
As the only ancient Greek comedian whose work has survived, Aristophanes' importance is impossible to exaggerate. He has not only immensely influenced comedy - and drama and literature generally - but is also practically the only source giving any idea what Greek comedy was like, making his work of immense historical value. Of course, as with all comedy that is truly universal, one need not know or even think about any of this. He is more than entertaining in his own right - indeed, still screamingly funny. Reading him, we get a profound sense of just how little comedy has changed. It is not just that what was funny nearly 2,500 years ago is still funny; techniques are basically unchanged, subject matter only being ephemeral. Aristophanes was above all a satirist, which inevitably means that many of the things he mocked and parodied are no longer intelligible without notes. We can still appreciate these with help, but what truly makes him worth reading is that the spirit of the satire - what really matters in contrast to passing fodder - continues to shine through distinctly. Human folly has changed little - has probably only increased if anything. His general observations are thus still funny - and, to those who look below the surface, still damning. Perhaps more immediately, it is striking to see that humor many think of as distinctly modern - religious blasphemy, bathroom humor, sexual humor - was as common and at least as good this long ago. Aristophanes also delights in more "serious" humor like puns and other wordplay; simply put, whether one prefers high- or low-brow, he has something for all. Humor aside, his sheer creativity still impresses; his plots and characters show near-boundless imagination and would be a significant accomplishment in even the most ostensibly serious artist. All this makes him almost unbelievably accessible - in translation of course; his tragedian contemporaries take a certain mindset and considerable dedication to appreciate, all but excluding casual readers. However, anyone can read Aristophanes with enjoyment, which is not the least of his virtues.

The Frogs may be Aristophanes' masterpiece. He satirized tragedians frequently, but this is notable in focusing almost entirely on them; indeed, Aeschylus and Euripides are characters. It ostensibly does little more than roast the latter in the former's favor and would be entertaining enough if it did nothing else; whether or not we agree, it is hard to deny some of the mocking points - and impossible not to laugh. However, there is far more to the play; it essentially delineates the two main ways that Athenians looked at the world as epitomized by these dramatists. The pros and cons of both are shown, but Aristophanes clearly favors the Aeschylean mode, poking relentless fun at the Euripidean. This had great sociopolitical significance for many reasons - not least because of looming war - but was also broadly philosophical, which is why it is still very much pertinent. But again, one need not worry that humor is lacking; the play is downright hilarious and has Aristophanes' funniest and most memorable songs. It is quite simply one of the best comedies ever.

Brek kek kek koax to You, Too!
I have a confession to make. I've never learned classical Greek.
Whoa, devoted friends, before you storm off in disillusionment, be advised that there's worse to come...
If I did undertake to learn Greek in my dotage, as I.F. Stone did, I wouldn't be aiming to read the Gospels or the Pauline Epistles. Nor the dialogues of Plato nor even the Ethics of Aristotle.
What I'd really like to read in the original would be the Comedies of Aristophanes.

Phanny, as I call him for short, was the funniest guy who ever lived, and this play "Frogs" is, according to my funny bone, the funniest of all.

The title and the "brekek kek koax" refer to the chorus of frogs that Dionysius silences while crossing the lake at the entrance to Hades, on his self-appointed mission to retrieve the tragic playwright Euripides from the underworld. Meanwhile his servant, the mortal Xanthias, the prototype of Sancho Panza and every other whacky sidekick servant in literature, is sent running around the lake and meets his master near the palace of Pluto. Dionysius and Xanthias change clothes, back and forth in slapstick uproar, and then summon the 'ghosts' of Euripides and Aeschylus to engage in a contest for the right to the chair of honor next to Pluto's throne. Sophocles, however, declines to compete out of reverence for Aeschylus. The competition is hilarious and exposes both tragedians to more mockery than praise. A modern reader with no foreknowledge of Greek drama, I hasten to admit, will NOT get most of the jokes here, but then, hey, I almost never understand the humor in an Adam Sandler film.

Frogs is more than snarky fun at the expense of the 'serious' dramatists. It's also a political satire of the dilemma the Athenians have gotten themselves into with their democratic indecisiveness. Specifically, the wisest course to take with that talented scoundrel Alcibiades, the tutee of Socrates, is dependent on the choice of Euripides versus Aeschylus as a 'teacher' of ethics through the public spectacle of drama. No writer has ever made a stronger case for the relevance and significance of 'literature' to society than Phanny, in this bizarre comedy.

There are numerous translations of Frogs, some dedicated to textual accuracy and scholarship, some committed to wit and stage-worthiness. This version is of the former sort. It's a reading translation, with ample notes and clarifications, and that's what I'd recommend for a first encounter with Phanny. There's a slangy, anachronistic translation by R.H. Webb, included in the cheap Bantam edition of all eleven surviving plays, which is funnier but not as historically informative.

Aristophanes's farcical attempt at dramatic criticism
On the one hand Aristophanes's comedy "The Frogs" is a farce, but it is of more interest because it presents the earliest known example of dramatic criticism.Presented in 405 B.C., the play tells of how Dionysus, the god of drama, had to go to Hades to fetch back Euripides, who died the previous year, because Athens no longer had any great tragic poets left.The first part of the comedy involves Dionysus, who has disguised himself as Heracles, and his slave Xanthias on their way to Hades and features several interesting songs by the chorus of blessed mystics and the chorus of frogs.However, the high point of the comedy is the contest between Euripides and Aeschylus.

Each of the two great tragic poets denounces the other and quotes lines from their own works to prove their superiority.We discover that Euripides writes about vulgar themes, corrupts manners, debases music and has prosaic diction.In contrast, Aeschylus finds obscure titles and is guilty of turgid prose.In the end Dionysus finds that artistic standards of judgment are useless and turns to a political solution.This makes sense since the problem facing Athens is a political one: what to do about the tyrant Alcibiades.What is most interesting is the implicit belief that the tragic poets had a social responsibility towards the audiences of their dramas.

"Frogs," in addition to being one of the better comedies by Aristophanes, is also of interest because it contains the only fragments from several tragedies by Euripides and Aeschylus that have been long lost to us. As always, I urge that if you are studying Greek plays, whether the comedies of Aristophanes or the tragedies by those other more serious fellows, it is important to understand the particular structure of these plays and the various dramatic conventions of the Greek theater. This involves not only the distinction between episodes and stasimons (scenes and songs), but elements like the "agon" (a formal debate on the crucial issue of the play), and the "parabasis" (in which the Chorus partially abandons its dramatic role and addresses the audience directly). ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting read, full of satire
I found it interesting and satirical how the women were withholding sex in order to stop a senseless war and constant fighting. It makes me wonder if that could ever work in today's times. ... Read more

Product Description
Now for the First Time Literally and Completely Translated from the Greek Tongue into English ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Crazy good. Wickedly bad!
What a great read. I am not a spoiler of plots, but if your in the mood for great entertainment check out this book! ... Read more

Product Description
A brand-new translation of the world's greatest satirist.With a signature style that is at once bawdy and delicate, as well as a fearless penchant for lampooning the rich and powerful, Aristophanes remains arguably the finest satirist of all time. Collected here are all 11 of his surviving plays-newly translated by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Decent Modernization, Horrible Translation
This translation of Aristophanes takes many liberties with the Greek. The translator has a knack for adding profanity wherever he sees fit. This gets in the way of the humor, and makes Aristophanes' admittedly crude humor much cruder than necessary. Furthermore, there are random lines that the translator adds, including one in The Suits that seems as if he is just trying to slip in his own political views among those of the poets. Significant lines have also been removed or altered beyond recognition. Though this translator does make an honest attempt at modernizing the puns and jokes used in the play, he fails utterly at maintaining the original meaning and vibe of the poetry.

In a nutshell, there are much better translations of Aristophanes out there.

Excellent, as usual
What's there to say? Paul Roche is a fine translator of Greek drama, and it shows.

A Good Translation
With the old comedy of Greece (i.e. Aristophanes), a more common language was used, therefore, a common dialect should be used for the translation. Roche does that here, much like any of the other translations.This should not direct one away from the text.It is very readable, and brings out the great humor of these works.It is also the one of the only ways to get all of Aristophanes' extant plays in one collection, and for a good price.Very worthy of your bookshelf.

Local Dialect Detracts from the Plays
Paul Roche, attempting to give his plays a more "familiar" feel to an English-speaking audience goes too far.

He has the irritating habit of occasionally flavoring the words of a minor character in such a way that they sound more like an English country bumpkin than the character they are supposed to represent.

As an example, near the beginning of The Acharnians, Roche does the following; pay close attention to the Crier:

AMPHITHEUS: Have the speeches begun?
CRIER: 'oo wishes to speak?
AMPHITHEUS: I do.
CRIER: 'oo are you?
AMPHITHEUS: Amphitheus
CRIER: That don't sound like a 'uman being.


This is but a single example.If you prefer a feeling of authenticity in your ancient Greek drama, stay away from Paul Roche.

Ribald and Raucous
Aristophanes was a ribald playwright whose raucous plays were brilliantly brought to life by Fred Beake, David Slavitt, Palmer Bovie, and Jack Flavin. The first two of the four plays in Aristophanes, 1, The Acharnians and Peace were written during the Peloponnesian War between Athens, Sparta, and their allies. It was a terrible war consuming all of Greece, and Aristophanes was one of the first peace advocates. In The Acharnians, Dikaiopolis (which means "Good Citizen"), tries to convince the Assembly to discuss peace terms, only to be shut out of the discussion. So he hires Amphitheus, who claims to be a son of a god ordered to bring peace, to go to Sparta and make a treaty between Sparta and his family. In Peace, Trygaeus flies to heaven on a beetle to talk Zeus into advocating peace but Zeus went on vacation because he couldn't stand the fighting anymore and left War in charge. War buried Peace and Trygaeus had to rescue her to bring Peace to Athens.

The third play in the series, Celebrating Ladies, was a raucous attempt by Euripides, the famous Tragedian, to send his brother-in-law to the women's assembly to find out what the women are saying about him. So he dresses up as a woman and learns the women want to kill Euripides for writing so many disparaging things about them. Mnesilochus, the brother-in-law, speaks up for Euripides and the women try to kill him too. He's finally rescued when Euripides promises to change his behavior.

Finally, Wealth, represented the last of the extant plays of Aristophanes. Chremylus and his slave discover Wealth, a god blinded by Zeus because Zeus was afraid he might visit honest men. Chremylus claims he can restore his sight if he'll only visit with honest men. Wealth agrees, and with his sight restored, sprreads wealth to honest men and the lying informers are made to suffer in poverty.

The four plays in Aristophanes, 1 span the gamut from Old Comedy to New Comedy. The former was characterized by vulgar and slapstick humor with a Chorus used to interact with the audience. As comedy evolved, the Chorus played less a role and there was a softening of the ribald humor so characteristic of Old Comedy.

To make the plays more readable and understandable without losing any of the humor of the plays, the translators often made references to Twentieth Century phrases instead of the original Greek phrases. This might be annoying to the scholar but makes these plays eminently enjoyable to the general reader ... Read more

Product Description
The acknowledged master of Greek comedy, Aristophanes brilliantly combines serious political satire with bawdiness, pyrotechnical bombast with delicate lyrics. "Four Plays by Aristophanes" features his four most celebrated masterpieces: THE CLOUDS, THE BIRDS, LYSISTRATA, and THE FROGS. This edition features wonderful translations of "The Clouds", "The Birds", "Lysistrata", and "The Frogs". The humor and satire is well-managed within the translation, particularly within (my favorite) "Lysistrata". The bantering dialogue within the play is hilarious from the exhortations of the women to their fellow sisters to abstain from sex with their men (regardless of their own strong, womanly desires) to the tongue-in-cheek dialogue between a teasing wife and her impatient husband, to the final division of land to be 'presented' in the form of a nude lady acting as a visual aid."The Four Plays by Aristophanes" includes THE CLOUDS. The most controversial of Aristophanes' plays, it is a brilliant caricature of the philosopher Socrates, seen as a wily sophist who teaches men to cheat through cunning argument. THE BIRDS: This portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth. LYSISTRATA: In the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War, the women of Athens and Sparta, tired of the incessant fighting between their men, resolve to withhold sex from their husbands until peace is settled. THE FROGS: Visiting the underworld, the god Dionysus seeks the counsel of the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides on how to bring good writing back to Athens. A fierce debate - full of scathing insults and literary satire - ensues between the two dramatists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Arrowsmith Edition
Four Plays by Aristophanes / 0-452-00717-8

This edition features wonderful translations of "The Clouds", "The Birds", "Lysistrata", and "The Frogs". The humor and satire is well-managed within the translation, particularly within (my favorite) "Lysistrata". The bantering dialogue within the play is hilarious from the exhortations of the women to their fellow sisters to abstain from sex with their men (regardless of their own strong, womanly desires) to the tongue-in-cheek dialogue between a teasing wife and her impatient husband, to the final division of land to be 'presented' in the form of a nude lady acting as a visual aid.

The four plays are described in this edition as follows:

THE CLOUDS: The most controversial of Aristophanes' plays, it is a brilliant caricature of the philosopher Socrates, seen as a wily sophist who teaches men to cheat through cunning argument.

THE BIRDS: This portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth.

LYSISTRATA: In the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War, the women of Athens and Sparta, tired of the incessant fighting between their men, resolve to withhold sex from their husbands until peace is settled.

THE FROGS: Visiting the underworld, the god Dionysus seeks the counsel of the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides on how to bring good writing back to Athens. A fierce debate - full of scathing insults and literary satire - ensues between the two dramatists.

~ Ana Mardoll

Inexpensive and very okay
Roche's Signet Classic "Four Plays by Aristophanes" provides good contemporary translations of Lysistrata, The Frogs, A Parliament of Women, and Plutus.On the negative side, the renderings are not terrifically inspired.The paper is too pulpy for a "classic," but that's a drawback of most (though not all) inexpensive classics nowadays. My printing of Roche, however, is not thick or blotchy, though I've noticed the Signet Classics sometimes tend in that direction.

Gone are the days, evidently, when the pages of a Signet Classic always looked crisp and stayed bright for decades.I've got some from the '60s that still look good.

Roche's introduction and notes to these four plays are brief but solid.

Great Ancient Greek Political Parodies
I should first point out that I read a different edition of this book, and the one that I had had only two plays - The Birds and The Frogs.I will review only these two. Aristophanes has a "no holds barred" type of approach to controversial political decisions and actions.The Birds is a comedy that ridicules the disastrous Greek expedition to Sicily in 413 B.C. Arisotophanes is a wonderful writer and he uses similes and parables throughout his writing.Besides being comedic, The Birds pays tribute to man's eternal desire to achieve the freedom and beauty associated with birds.
The Frogs is a parody on the stupidy and culpability of persons afflicted with their own preoccupation with themselves.We see these types of "puffed up" personalities all around even in this day and age.So like the frogs we hear in our ponds and marshes chirping the same old songs.This is acually as timely as it was when it was written sometime around 400 B.C.Hard to believe.

Get on the right page
The reviews attached here seem to refer to another collection by another translator--the Arrowsmith edition, apparently.Instead of"Clouds" we have two lesser plays--"Parliament of Women" and "Wealth."The translation's lively, the notes very helpful, the glossary mentioned in other reviews is absent here.All in all, a very useful introduction to Aristophanes, and endless fun.

ancient Greek comedy at its best
Aristophanes was to theatre what Socrates was to religion and politics--the funny, irreverent "bad boy." My favorite of these 4 plays has to be "The Clouds", which is in fact a parody mocking and making fun of Socrates (spelled or mis-spelled Sokrates). Very funny dialogue.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes" ... Read more

Product Description
The acknowledged master of Greek comedy, Aristophanes brilliantly combines serious political satire with bawdiness, pyrotechnical bombast with delicate lyrics. "Frogs and Other Plays" features his four most celebrated masterpieces: THE CLOUDS, THE BIRDS, LYSISTRATA, and THE FROGS. This edition features wonderful translations of "The Clouds", "The Birds", "Lysistrata", and "The Frogs". "Frogs and Other Plays " includes THE FROGS: Visiting the underworld, the god Dionysus seeks the counsel of the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides on how to bring good writing back to Athens. A fierce debate - full of scathing insults and literary satire - ensues between the two dramatists. THE CLOUDS: The most controversial of Aristophanes' plays, it is a brilliant caricature of the philosopher Socrates, seen as a wily sophist who teaches men to cheat through cunning argument. THE BIRDS: This portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth. LYSISTRATA: In the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War, the women of Athens and Sparta, tired of the incessant fighting between their men, resolve to withhold sex from their husbands until peace is settled. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Review of Penguin Classics Aristophanes' Frogs, et al.
First of all, I was suprised to find tbat the introduction to this Aristophanes collection was more lucid and readable than that before the "Birds" Collection, which is really meant to be the original volume.

The editor, Shomit Dutta, did an excellent job of modernizing the Barrett translation and adding extensive end notes. Although, as usual, I find footnotes far more helpful, the work as a whole was so wonderful that I had to give it five stars.

As with the first volume, this Penguin Classics collections presents plays which are easy to read and genuinely funny, especially for one who has just recently read Greek drama.

Hilarious collection of plays
Comedy is notoriously difficult to translate--not only do some cultures have entirely different senses of humor, the word-play and deft cultural allusions that make good comedy are often untranslatable. Against these odds, translator David Barrett has successfully brought Aristophanes into modern English with all his wit, sarcasm, and sly digs at well-known Greeks.

The plays collected here--Frogs, Wasps, and Women at the Thesmophoria--are rendered so well that I was laughing all the way through. The translations are remarkably true to the originals and well foot-noted where the translator has diverged from the text, usually to make a joke an English-speaking reader would understand.

Frogs and Other Plays is a fast, easy, and very funny read, well worth the time for anyone interested in ancient Greece, drama, or good old-fashioned comedy.

Recommended.

Very easy read
More people should read the Greeks.It's not hard at all.How many of your friends can say they've read Aristophanes? ... Read more

Product Description
The acknowledged master of Greek comedy, Aristophanes brilliantly combines serious political satire with bawdiness, pyrotechnical bombast with delicate lyrics. "Lysistrata and Other Plays" features his four most celebrated masterpieces: THE CLOUDS, THE BIRDS, LYSISTRATA, and THE FROGS. This edition features wonderful translations of "The Clouds", "The Birds", "Lysistrata", and "The Frogs". The humor and satire is well-managed within the translation, particularly within "Lysistrata". The bantering dialogue within the play is hilarious from the exhortations of the women to their fellow sisters to abstain from sex with their men (regardless of their own strong, womanly desires) to the tongue-in-cheek dialogue between a teasing wife and her impatient husband, to the final division of land to be 'presented' in the form of a nude lady acting as a visual aid."Lysistrata and Other Plays " includes THE CLOUDS. The most controversial of Aristophanes' plays, it is a brilliant caricature of the philosopher Socrates, seen as a wily sophist who teaches men to cheat through cunning argument. THE BIRDS: This portrayal of a flawed utopia called Cloudcuckooland is an enchanting escape into the world of free-flying fantasy that explores the eternal dilemmas of man on earth. LYSISTRATA: In the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War, the women of Athens and Sparta, tired of the incessant fighting between their men, resolve to withhold sex from their husbands until peace is settled. THE FROGS: Visiting the underworld, the god Dionysus seeks the counsel of the dead tragedians Aeschylus and Euripides on how to bring good writing back to Athens. A fierce debate - full of scathing insults and literary satire - ensues between the two dramatists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Review Of Penguin Classics Aristophanes: Lysistrata et al.
I found this collection to be on par with the other two volumes in the Penguin Classics library: filled with excellent and genuinely funny translations. This book, like the 'Frogs, et al.' features extensive end notes (which are very well done, but still sadly not footnotes). The 'Frogs, et al.' book has a better introduction, but this one is sufficient.

awesome
this is the best book of plays that i have ever bought. Lysistrata is one of the best plays i've ever read.

Aristophanes with Tact
I have used this book repeatedly for my classes on women in antiquity, mostly out of habit. Professor Sommerstein's translation is extremely readable, but he is such a gentleman that the really flagrant double entendres of the Greek in "Lysistrata" and the "Acharnians" often pass unnoticed, or must be teased out of the text; and because they have often been rendered into a Scottish dialect, they must be explained. And when humor has to be explained--especially Aristophanic humor--it loses something of its ribaldry in the process of explanation. Nevertheless, the book makes for reading that is painless, pleasant, and usually terribly polite.

the father of western comedy...
Brilliantly written and translated (quite a feat considering the many word-plays in ancient Greek...), this book (or any of Arsitophanes' plays for that matter) is a 'must read' for the humourist and the classisist combined. When the King of Syracuse asked Plato what he should read to understand how the average Athenian thought, he was instructed to read Aristophanes. You will be fascinated to see just how 'modern' the humour is, or, as the introduction explains, how 'ancient' our modern comedy is.

'The Clouds', inlcuded in this volume, is the imfamous play that Plato criticised Aristophanes over after the death of Socrates: he claimed that the parody of his teacher helped those who secured Socrates' death. I'd like to think Socrates did not concur. It has been reported that he bowed in good humour after witnessing the performance. Also, 'Lysistrata' is often used as a proto-feminist story - although it is much more interesting than that. Ancient Greeks have, as one of their chief virtues and downfalls a drive to be self examining and critical. It gives todays social relativists plenty of ammunition. Those that use it as an anti-war/peace-at-any-cost story, when it is actually against civil war, have not studied Aristophanes enough, or are prepared to ignore what doesn't work for their cause...

Translation with wit but without true character of original
Alan Sommerstein went to some length to translate the puns and plays onwords (as further explained in the endnotes), which results in a veryactive play, and, for the careful reader, wit in nearly every line.Healso uses the endnotes to explain further the Greek personalities mentionedin the plays, which adds to the understanding; my recommendation would beto read the play straight, then read the associated endnotes, then rereadthe play in question.

This translation captures the humor of theoriginal, which ranges from low-brow slapstick to witty one-liners topolitical asides--a union of vaudeville, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Russell. However, what Sommerstein utterly misses is the form of ancient Greekcomedy.The lyric choruses are rendered in choppy iambic lines, with manyof them set to tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan.Aristophanes meant touse vulgarity in the acting, not in the lines of the Chorus.

Two starsfor verbal wit, two stars for completeness of endnotes, and one star for mylove of "Lysistrata", minus one star for excessive use of campytunes.

(For those of you who do like his translations, or those justlooking for the other eight plays, they are contained in two more volumes. Sommerstein collaborated with David Barrett in the volumeKnights/Peace/Birds/Women's Assembly/Wealth, while Barrett translatedWasps/Women's Assembly/Frogs.Barrett takes less care with the translationof humor, but does not destroy the credibility of the choral lines.) ... Read more

Product Description
This new verse translation of Aristophanes' comedies offers one of the world's great comic dramatists in a form that is both historically faithful and theatrically vigorous. Aristophanes' plays were produced for the festival theater of classical Athens in the fifth century BC and encompass the whole gamut of humor, from brilliantly inventive fantasy to obscene vulgarity.This edition includes a substantial general introduction and introductory essays for each of the plays, as well as full explanatory notes and an index of names. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review of the Penguin Classics Aristophanes, Volume One
I call this volume the "first" in a series of three by Penguin classics, because it presents the most extensive introduction, and is described as the first volume within this introduction. The two subsequent volumes, one with translations by Sommerstein, the other with translations by Barrett, can be arranged in any order.

The best part of these translations is that they are actually funny. Many of the jokes are political, and requre more than a passing knowledge of Greek culture, but when the protagonist's husband in the 'Assemblywomen' talks about "pushing out a cucumber" (speaking about bowel movements), one can't help but chuckle. He's also wearing his wife's dress at the time, and doing his business by squating on the streetside.

Another excellent feature is the great efforts to putting the verse translations in rhyme. These are very well done, however liberal the translation.

From personal perspective, I found Sommerstein's translations superior to those of Barrett, having better end notes and more use of rhyming verse.

I have two qualms with this (these) book(s)...

The first is occasional 'British' humor. I can't recall specific examples, but, as an American, there were times where I'd feel I had to put the joke under a second translation to make it funny.

The second is the lack of FOOTnotes, which I find far superior to endnotes.

A Review on Aristophanes' Plays
Aristophanes is considered the finest comic playwrite of the Classical Era.This is certainly born out through the selection in this volume.Birds is a comedy about an Athenian who decides to incite the birds to take over the world and replace the classical deities as its rulers.Both Lysistrata and Assembly-Women are about what would happen if the women took over the government.In the former, the women of Greece band together in a sex-strike, to end the Pelopennesian Wars.In the later, the Athenian women use trickery to be elected the the leaders of the democracy, and they institute economic and sexual communism.In the last selection, Wealth, the deity of Wealth, Ploutos, is captured and made to distribute wealth only to the good.However, as Poverty points out, that might not be a good thing.These plays are full of topical comedy, but much of the humor still is funny 2400 years later.The translation is very uncensored, as Greek comedy itself was, so that very little is lost in metaphor.The imagery in some of them is highly amusing.Although this is a great example of the way life was in Classic Athens, these plays are not for the squeamish!! ... Read more

Product Description
A poet who hated an age of decadence, armed conflict, and departure from tradition, Aristophanes' comic genius influenced the political and social order of his own fifth-century Athens. But as Moses Hadas writes in his introduction to this volume, 'His true claim upon our attention is as the most brilliant and artistic and thoughtful wit our world has known.' Includes The Acharnians, The Birds, The Clouds, Ecclesiazusae, The Frogs, The Knights, Lysistrata, Peace, Plutus, Thesmophoriazusae, and The Wasps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

You Get What You Pay For
Several years ago, during my first year of college, I purchased and read one of Aristophanes' better known plays, The Clouds.I thoroughly enjoyed the translation, and I made a mental note to read more Aristophanes as time provided.Many years passed between that pleasant reading and my purchase of this book, The Complete Plays of Aristophanes.

Any book that purports to include the "Complete" works of an ancient author automatically draws my attention.And so, when I chanced upon this title at Borders and discovered it to have a reasonable price ($5.95 + tax for 11 plays, about .58 cents a play), I could see little reason not to buy this work.

Standing at its price, The Complete Plays of Aristophanes is a great deal.The plays are complete and each includes an introductory page.However, in terms of readability and enjoyment, the book suffers in several regards.Firstly, some of the translations are nearly unreadable, especially when the translations are in antiquated English slang.This is not to say all the translations are unreadable.The work includes the translations of four men: B.B. Rogers, Moses Hadas, R.H. Webb, and Jack Lindsay.I found that one play would have a dreadful translation (by the standards of today), only for the next play, translated by the same man, to have a much clearer translation.I wonder if the problem lies less with the translator than with the difficulties of translating into contemporary English, as well as thegap between the English language spectrum of the translators and the English known and used today.

Besides the translations, there is the issue of the play introductions.Some of the play introductions are helpful in providing the historical background of the time in which Aristophanes wrote the play.The book is much better with the introductions than without.Yet, several of the comments made in the introductions strike one as dilettante.For example, the writer directly states what is funny or grave in the play.As to the freedom of the text from typographical errors: the work overall presents itself as a polished publication.On p. 205 the title at the top of the page should read "Wasps" but instead reads "Play Title", as if the publisher forgot the change this for final publication.Other than that, however, I found few actual errors.

My overall impression: this book is a better investment than a fast food meal at the same price, although if you want to receive the most out of Aristophanes, there are better translations and scholarly coverage on the market.

Learn from my mistake
You may look at the Bantam Classics edition of Aristophanes and think "Wow, what a deal!All eleven extant plays by Aristophanes for under $6!"I thought the same thing; but trust me, this edition is not worth your time.These translations are stilted, archaic and endlessly frustrating - obscuring not only the timeless humor of the plays, but occasionally the basic elements of the plot as well.I recommend instead paying the extra money for the livelier, bawdier, more readable Penguin editions.Don't make the same mistake I did.

a dreadful translation of classic work
do NOT purchase this translation. it makes one of the funniest writers of all time boring. this translation is as bad as the previous reviewers have indicated. the best, and most hilarious, translation that i've seen is a 1938 version that , i think, eugene o'neillworked on as an editor or something.however, aristophanes should definitely be checked out by afficionados of ancient greek literature as well as anyone interested in comic writing that'll make you laugh out loud. he's one of the titans of world literature.

Disappointed by a Bad Translation
The plays of Aristophanes comic masterpieces, but not in these old-fashioned, stilted translations.I have read other translations of some of these plays.When properly translated, they are witty in much of their wordplay, frequently ribald and often funny.The language of the present translations, on the other hand, is stiff, obscure and scarcely readable.The publisher has done us a great service by compiling all of the Aristophanes plays into a single volume, but should reissue the collection in a better, more modern translation, one which does justice to the original.

Too Much Liberty in Paraphrasing
I agree with the previous review on "Baudlerizing". Not only is the translation edited for sexual content but translating greek currencies (likely drachmae) into dollars, translating references to women's robes into "silk" -- probably unknown in ancient Greece, etc., makes this book less useful for people like myself who cannot read the ancient Greek, but are researching the historical period.The book retains much of Aristophanes humor and is, fairly much, kid-safe for those parents who are concerned about a child precocious enough to read Aristophanes being corrupted by an accurate translation. ... Read more

Product Description
Aristophanes has long been admired for his brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life of Athens at its height. The new Loeb Classical Library edition of his plays--with a suitably romping translation facing a freshly edited Greek text--is now brought to completion with this fourth volume.Frogs was produced in 405 b.c., shortly after the deaths of Sophocles and Euripides. Dionysus, on a journey to the underworld to retrieve Euripides, is recruited to judge a contest between the traditional Aeschylus and the modern Euripides, a contest that yields both comedy and insight on ancient literary taste. In Assemblywomen Athenian women plot to save Athens from male misgovernance. They institute a new social order in which all inequalities based on wealth, age, and beauty are eliminated--with raucously comical results. The gentle humor and straightforward morality of Wealth made it the most popular of Aristophanes' plays from classical times to the Renaissance. Here the god Wealth, cured of his blindness, is newly able to distinguish good people from bad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent translation of Aristophanes' finest works
This book, the fourth in Dr. Henderson's fine series of parallel translations, is perhaps the best of the series, containing as it does the comic masterpiece "Frogs," in my opinion the finest of Aristophanes' works. Henderson's translations are crisp, clear, and hilarious, and his extensive use of vulgarity is always textually and philologically sound (as a few comparisons of Liddell-Scott and the OED will surely reveal). In short, it is the definitive edition of Aristophanes' works, and the only translation accurate enough to be worth having on your bookshelf (and believe me, I've read quite a few). ... Read more

Product Description

Aristophanes of Athens (ca. 446–386 BCE), one of the world's greatest comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for his iridescent wit and beguiling fantasy, exuberant language, and brilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life of Athens at its height. He wrote at least forty plays, of which eleven have survived complete. In this new Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristophanes, Jeffrey Henderson presents a freshly edited Greek text and a lively, unexpurgated translation with full explanatory notes.

The general introduction that begins Volume I reviews Aristophanes' career and brings current scholarly insights to bear on the intriguing question of the comic poet as a political force. In Acharnians a small landowner, tired of the Peloponnesian War, magically arranges a personal peace treaty and, borrowing a disguise from Euripides, demonstrates the injustice of the war in a contest with the bellicose Acharnians. Also in this volume is Knights, perhaps the most biting satire of a political figure (Cleon) ever written.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Whoah now, Mr. Henderson
I have many of Aristophanes' works in several translations, but was required to buy this one for a different class last semester. I was looking forward to a translation with a "fresh" perspective, but I guess I wasn't quite prepared.

This translation does its best to be current, but it really tries too hard. The plays are rife with weird slang and unnecessary cursing that really detracts from the plays. In some parts the plays are downright vulgar. I am well aware that these were far from chaste plays in their heyday, but I think Jeffrey Henderson went a little too far in an effort to shock his readers, rather than provide historical accuracy. All in all, if you're looking for a novel perspective on Greek theater you may find this captivating. If you are looking for one good copy of Aristophanes' works, keep looking.

Gimme another translation, man
This review is for the Focus Classical Library version of three Aristophanes plays: Acharnians, Lysistrata and Clouds. The good news is that they are not bowdlerized. The bad news is that the translator, Jeffrey Henderson, got way too funky and hip (ie, dated) with his translation. Characters say "man" and use words like "gimme", "wanna" and "a__hole". Some of this kind of thing is appropriate, especially in "Clouds", but the translator is trying so hard to be wacky that it becomes a major distraction. A large sum of money is refered to as "a million bucks" and so on. A good example of one way in which a translation can go awry.

Two comedies by Aristophanes in Greek and English
The Loeb Classical Library features the original Greek texts that remain for both of these comedies by Aristophanes and is obviously of great benefit to those who actually read Greek and are interested in playing with the translation in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding of these plays, their author and the time in which they were performed.The "Acharnians" is one of the earliest extant plays of Aristophanes, the winner of first prize at the festival when it was produced in 425 B.C. Dicaeopolis, a farmer tired of a war he considers to be stupid, decides to make an individual peace with the Spartans. However, before he can celebrate his private treaty, which allows him to trade for goods lacked by those in Athens, he is attacked by a chorus of Acharnian charcoal burners who support the war. The centerpiece of the comedy is Dicaeopolis's speech arguing the causes of the war are pretty stupid. This seriocomic speech, which is a parody of "Telephus" by Euripides, wins over half the chorus. Of course the other half immediately attacks them in a violent agon. The general Lamachus is called in to help, but Dicaeopolis destroys him with cutting arguments as well, and the chorus is united at the end to delivery Aristophanes's parabasis. Meanwhile, Discaeopolis has a drinking contest to attend, while Lamachus is sent back to the war. Pacificism and the folly of war are two recurring themes in the comedies of Aristophanes and both are explicit in the "Acharnians." It is also a good example of the standard format of a Greek comedy, at least as represented by the works of Aristophanes, including the giant party at the end.

The Knights," produced in 424 B.C., is clearly an all-out attack on Cleon, the leader of Athens after the death of Pericles. As related by Thucydides, earlier that year Cleon had induced the Spartans to propose peace. Consequently, Aristophanes opens the comedy with two slaves of the crotchety old Demos ("the people of Athens") dressed up to resemble the generals Demosthenes and Nicias. The two slaves complain about how everyone is picking on Paphlagon, a leather seller who is the favorite of Demos and clearly intended to be Cleon. The oracles tell that Paphlagon is going to be replaced by a sausage seller named Agoracritus."The Knights" is a second-tier comedy by Aristophanes because it is devoted entirely to making fun of Cleon. Consequently, Aristophanes makes his point early on and by the time Agoracritus the sausage seller beats Cleon at this own game, the comic dramatist is beating a dead horse all the way into the ground. This comedy always struck me as being like a SNL skit that lasts the entire show. In the end Demos, rejuvenated by being stewed in a plot by Agoracritus, takes control and declares he will abolish all innovations and restore the old traditions. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally adapted for the stage, Peter Meineck's revised translations achieve a level of fidelity appropriate for classroom use while managing to preserve the wit and energy that led The New Yorker to judge his Clouds "The best Greek drama we've ever seen anywhere." and The Times Literary Supplement to describe his Wasps as "Hugely enjoyable and very, very funny." A general introduction, introductions to the plays, and detailed notes on staging, history, religious practice and myth combine to make this a remarkably useful teaching text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Three early Greek comedies by Aristophanes
"Aristophanes I" brings together three of the Greek comedians earliest extant comedies. The legend is that when Aristophanes' comedy "The Clouds" was first performed in Athens in 423 B.C., his target, Socrates, stood throughout the performance so that everyone in the audience was aware that he was there and hearing what was said of him. The portrait of Socrates clearly satirical and most critics consider it to be inaccurate. But Aristophanes is making fun of Athens' renowned "Think-tank" the "Phrontisterion," the school where the rich young men of Athens were taught the fine art of rhetoric. Instead of anything lofty the comic poet suggests the primary purpose of such an education is to be clever and out-reason greedy creditors. This is an especially good translation of the play, which includes insightful notes and essays on both Old Comedy and the Theater of Dionysus that helps readers understand the conventions of staged comedy at the time of Aristophanes.

In this comedy Socrates is consulted by an old rogue, Strepsiades (sometimes translated as "Twisterson"), who is upset with the mountain of debts his playboy son Phidippides, who loves fast horses and fast living. Phidippides agrees to go to Socrates' school of logic where he can learn to make a wrong argument sound right. After graduation is able to use the system of "unjust logic" to outwit his father and kick him out of the family home. The Chorus of Clouds comments on the proceedings and in the end the Phrontisterion is burned to the ground by Strepsiades. The flaw of the play is Aristophanes is trying to satirize the Sophists, who were popularizing a new philosophy that denied the possibility of ever reaching objective truth, he picked the wrong target. The Sophists were mostly teachers who were not native to Athens, such as Isocartes and Gorgias. "Sophist" basically meant teacher, so while Socrates was a "sophist" he was not a "Sophist." Twenty-four years later, when Socrates was condemned to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens," the only accuser he said he could name was a certain "comic poet" who renamed nameless.

The version of "The Clouds" that has passed down to us is not the original version, which was defeated by Cratinus' "Wine Flask" at a comedy competition during the Great Dionysia celebrations. We know this is a revised version because the Chorus complains about Aristophanes finishing third in that competition. However, critics assume it is essentially the same play, albeit a more polished version. Once you forgive Aristophanes for his unfair characterization of Socrates, "The Clouds" is a great comedy employing all of his standard tricks of the trade from fantasy and ribaldry to funny songs and obscene words.

"Wasps" ("Sphekes") appeals to contemporary audiences because it satirizes the litigiousness of the Athenians. Actually, the play, produced in 422 B.C., is more about the permanent tensions between conservative and liberal politics. Aristophanes is attacking the practice of the politician Cleon's exploitation of the large subsidized juries used in by the Athenian legal system. Bdelcylen ("Cleon-hater"), representing the position of the playwright, maintains that pay for public service is the device of demagogues to purchase loyalty. His father Philocleon("Cleon-lover"), a mean and waspish old man who has a passion for serving on juries, represents the Athenians.

Bdelcylen arranges for a court to be held at home to hear Philocleon's stupid little case of accusing the dog of the house of stealing cheese. The old man is cured of his passion for juries, becoming a drunkard instead. The best scenes in "Wasps" are Philocleon's attempts to escape when Bdelcyclen locks him up and the scene where the poor dog is tried. Certainly this play is representative of Aristophanes as a reformer, who wanted to persuade his audiences to change their foolish ways by ridiculing them on stage.

The problem with "The Birds" ("Ornithes") is that for once Aristophanes does not seem to be attacking some specific abuse in Athens. Still, we suspect that even this little fantasy is not simply escapist entertainment. Certainly there are those who see it as a political satire about the imperialistic dreams that resulted in the disastrous invasion of Sicily (which happened the year before his play was produced in 414 B.C.). Then again, this could just be Aristophanes bemoaning the decline of Athens.

Pisthetaerus ("Trusting") and Euelpides ("Hopeful") have grown tired of life in Athens and decide to build a utopia in the sky with the help of the birds, which they will name Necphelococcygia (which translates roughly as "Cloud Cuckoo Land"). Pisthetaerus and his feathered friends have to fight off those unworthy humans, malefactors and public nuisances all, who try and join their utopia. Then there are the gods, who come to make some sort of agreement with the new city because they have created a bottleneck for sacrifices coming from earth. Because it is a more general satire, "The Birds" tends to work better with younger audiences than most comedies by Aristophanes. Besides, the chorus of birds lends itself to fantastic costumes, which is always a plus with young theater goers.

In studying any of the Greek plays that remain it is important to I have always maintained that in studying Greek plays you want to know the dramatic conventions of these plays like the distinction between episodes and stasimons (scenes and songs), the "agon" (a formal debate on the crucial issue of the play), and the "parabasis" (in which the Chorus partially abandons its dramatic role and addresses the audience directly). Understanding these really enhances your enjoyment of the play.

Three classic plays translated for performers and students
Better known for translating the great Greek tragedies, Peter Meineck has now turned his pen on the comedies, with generally positive results.Like other translations published by Hackett, this one is aimed squarely at today's college students.It has plenty of historical background for those who want it, or can be read just for the plays.

Translating comedy is trickier than tragedy, because jokes are so fickle.What one society finds hilarious, another might find distasteful.Meineck does his best to render the old Greek jokes and still be funny.He doesn't always succeed.His skills at punning are not as great as Aristophanes', nor do the jokes about minor Athenian figures like Theorus and Cardopion add much to a performance text.

And these are performance texts.No matter how faithful to the original, no matter how many footnotes and endnotes the translator provides, a student should still be wary of changes made for modern performance.Today's theater operates under an entirely different set of conventions.

The plays themselves are three genuine classics, WASPS being less known than CLOUDS and BIRDS, but in this book, perhaps the best.Procleon's obsession with jury service and the headaches it causes his son translates very well, and Meineck is surprisingly adept at rendering the political understory that subliminally critizes the Athenian leader Cleon.

BIRDS is the story of two friends who come up with one of the great comic plans: a utopia named Cloudcuckooland where they, with the help of the birds, rule both the gods and men.And it works!

CLOUDS is read most often because it features a comic version of Socrates and his 'Pondertorium.'While Meineck and Introduction writer Ian C. Storey conclude the portrayal of Socrates is entirely innaccurate, it sure is funny.CLOUDS is really more of a father-son story, a father convincing his profligate son to get an education in order to argue the father's way out of the accumulating debts.What the father doesn't bank on is his son using new-learned rhetorical skills to argue that a son has the right to beat his father.

Meineck is British, so the slang in the plays is full of 'poofters' and 'arses.'I will say this much, only recently have translations of the Greek comic playwrights begun to reflect how genuinely bawdy they were.Some of Meineck's best footnotes let you in on the double-entendres.

It's all a lot of silly mischief, and in the final reckoning Aristophanes comes through loud and clear, despite such devices as rhymed doggerel passages (no rhymes in classical Greek) and confusing name translations like Makemedo.The title of this book is ARISTOPHANES I, and let us hope that professor Meineck is at work on an ARISTOPHANES II that will include some of Aristophanes lesser-known works as well as perennial favorite LYSISTRATA. ... Read more

Product Description
Aristophanes (ca. 446-386 b.c.), one of the world'sgreatest comic dramatists, has been admired since antiquity for hisiridescent wit and beguiling fantasy, exuberant language, andbrilliant satire of the social, intellectual, and political life ofAthens at its height. In this third volume of a new Loeb ClassicalLibrary edition of Aristophanes' plays, Jeffrey Henderson presents afreshly edited Greek text facing a lively, unexpurgated translationwith full explanatory notes.

In Birds Aristophanes turns from the pointed political satirecharacteristic of earlier plays to a fantasy that soars literally intothe air in search of a carefree world. Here the enterprisingprotagonists create a utopian counter-Athens, called Cloudcuckooland,ruled by birds. Lysistrata blends uninhibited comedy and an earnestcall for peace. Lysistrata, our first comic heroine, organizes apanhellenic conjugal strike of young wives until their husbands endthe war between Athens and Sparta. Athenian women again take centerstage in Women at the Thesmophoria, this time to punish Euripides forportraying them as wicked. Parody of Euripides' plots enlivens thiswitty confrontation of the sexes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

My daughter says...
I got this for my daughter (16). She says it was good and translated in a way that was easier to enjoy than the books that other students in her class used.

THE modern Aristophanes translation
Professor Henderson's new translations of Aristophanes are uncensored, readable, fresh, and ultimately extremely enjoyable.He captures how Aristophanes probably would write if he lived today, with frank yet poetic language that brings these comedic gems to light.I have heard Professor Henderson's translation of Women at the Thesmophoria read aloud; the only thing funnier--and raunchier--I have heard since then has been a reading of his translation of Assemblywomen.Somehow Aristophanes manages to entertain his audience with the lowest of humor while invoking serious intellectual themes.(Imagine if people like Adam Sandler had brains. . .)
N.B.This is not your grandmother's Greek theater!Aristophanes, particularly as rendered by Professor Henderson, will make you rethink your notion of the Classics as dull, snooty, Stoic dust-gatherers in the far corner of the libary.
Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
Aristophanes's "Lysistrata" is one of the great comedies from classical antiquity. Central to the work is the vow by the women of Greece to withhold sex from their husbands until they end the brutal war between Athens and Sparta. A hilarious and decisively anti-war comedic drama, "Lysistrata" stands as one of the great works from the classical age of drama. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good read got the book in time
I got the book in time when I needed it for school and read in less than a morning.

The bawdiest anti-war play ever.
Aristohanes had the perfect solution to stopping war. And this is it. All the women of Athens lock themselves into the temple of Athena and refuse to come out until their men stop their war.
The troupe I was with were criticized severely for presenting this ancient comedy. It's as funny and as bawdy as anyone wishes. Many of Shakespeare's plays are as bawdy if presented that way. it good adult fun if produced correctly, and a great read. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

Inaccurate translation
This edition has two advantages: it is very cheap and very tame. However, this same translation is the problem, although it manages to avoid some of the anachronistic elements of some more liberal translations. The explicit material is what defines this play and gives it its classical "Greekness" but none of that is present in this edition. It is certainly written for a younger audience not in touch with Greek theater.

It's cheap, but this text does not reflect what the Greek one does. Skip it.

Excellent
This was exactly what I was hoping for, a simple copy of Lysistrata's text.No extra frills, no bells and whistles.Just perfect.

Hilarious and Still Relevant
Last semester, I took a college course on comedic drama. Lysistrata was one of the first plays the class read, and it, the oldest play we read, provided the room of twenty-somethings with our biggest belly-laugh of the semester. That, it seems, attests to the endurance of this theatrical masterpiece.

The plot is outstanding. The country is involved in a needless war that is tearing everyone apart. In response, Lysistrata leads the women in a conspiracy to stop the war. They will lock themselves in the temple and withhold sex from their men until the war stops. The outcome is increasingly hilarious (and bawdy), and profound.

And of course, the play wouldn't still be around if it were simply funny. There are layers of meaning here and, in true comedic fashion, an appeal to a better way of life. The play builds to an appeal to a more spirit-filled, more peaceful, and loving, way of living. It's no wonder that this play is still relevant 2500 years after it was written.

Revolting and insulting.
"Lysistrata" is truly a revolting play that pokes fun at women.They say Aristophanes thought women to be more than toys for their men, but I see the opposite.I think Aristophanes made a satire out of women and the only thing they are good at: sex and reproducing male babies.This is no compliment. To think that the only way women can change their husband's minds would be by withholding intercourse.This is preposterous! I found this play derogatory with ill humor.I do not recommend.

Make love, not war!
"Lysistrata," the play by Aristophanes, has been published in an anonymous translation as part of the Dover Thrift Editions series. The opening commentary on the text notes that this play dates back to 411 BCE. Aristophanes tells the story of his title character, an Athenian woman who, weary of war, conceives a bold plan: she enlists the women of Greece to refuse to have sex with their men until the men make peace.

The plot of this play is thus quite simple, but it is marvelously handled by the author. The play is a rich and effective mix of slapstick antics, bawdy wordplay, and biting sociopolitical commentary. At the center of this enjoyable play is the commanding figure of Lysistrata. Articulate and resolute, she is truly one of the great characters of world drama; she's a woman with a bold vision.

Although it is a funny comedy, "Lysistrata" does deal with some serious issues that remain relevant after all these centuries. Recommended as a companion text: "Necessary Targets," a play by Eve Ensler. This non-comedic drama also deals with the issue of women in a country at war. ... Read more

Product Description
The first new edition in almost sixty years, this volume of Aristophanes' Lysistrata brings the play completely up to date with modern scholarship.It provides the first complete account of its history and contains new information about the comic theater and its social and political context.Lysistrata not only brims with topical references to social life, religion, and politics in classical Athens; it is also one of our best sources for information on the life of women in antiquity, offering a unique glimpse of their everyday life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

GREAT!!
This is the best feminist play written in ancient Greece... don't know that there were many, but it's a great play anyway.

Entertaining Classic with a Modern Translation
In his comic play, Lysistrata, Aristophanes provides a fantasy account of the Peloponnesian War between the Spartans and Athenians.The women of Greece, disheartened by all of the bloodshed and damage caused by the war attempt to take the matter into their own hands.Led by Lysistrata, the women of Sparta and Athens band together and institute a sex-strike which will continue until the men agree to a cease-fire.Henderson is very liberal with his translation, which stands in contrast to some of the pruder translations from the Victorian era and even ones from this century.The play is filled with graphic sexual innuendos, which were repressed in other editions, but are fully presented here to retain the original comic power of the play.The vernacular used is modern and uninhibited, and is not recommended for young audiences (University level minimum).

an acient view
this books gives you the sense on how women wee treated and how they made themselves stand out and been heard using special tatics to stop the war between the athenians and the trojans.Although they say that women arethe weaker sex the men are weaker with out sex.

A complete book
I think this is the best presentation of a Greek text, because there is a good introduction, a lot of help behind in the book, but no translation. So this is the ideal Lysistrata for students. ... Read more

Product Description
Three Plays by Aristophanes presents Aristophanes' three women's comedies in a single volume and in unexpurgated, annotated translations. There are introductions to each play, and general introductory chapters cover Aristophanes, his theater and the women in his plays; an appendix contains relevant additional material from Aristophanes' lost comedies. Three Plays by Aristophanes will interest both readers of classical drama and students of gender studies and social history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Can You Say That?
Let me start by saying that this book has the best translations of Aristophanes that I've ever read.Henderson's translations contain really obscene language.That is not to say that I only liked it for the swears. The flow of the play with this obscenity is like the flow of a moderncomedy.Why should something as great as a classical play be subject tocensorship?Thanks to Henderson and his translation, we now know exactlywhat the Athenians saw when they watched Aristophanes. ... Read more

Product Description
Aristophanes, the Athenian comic dramatist, remains popular despite historical changes in attitude and belief. Placing the plays in their total civic, religious and dramatic context, this account explores their significance for contemporary audiences, and their continuing appeal. Separate chapters address aspects of his work and world, and attempt to outline the playwright's own opinions at a time of intense political debate.With original texts quoted in translation this comprehensive and lively study will provide students with an invaluable insight into the plays and their place in classical Athens. ... Read more

Product Description
New English versions of Lysistrata, The Frogs, The Birds, and Ladies' Day. "Thanks to Dudley Fitts...we can appreciate Aristophanes' vigor, his robust style, his scorching wit, his earthy humor, his devotion to honesty and his poetic imagination" (Brooks Atkinson, New York Times). Index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Big yuks in Old Greece
Years (many years) ago when I was an English major at UMass, we were given two translations of Aristophanes "The Birds" to read in order to make a point about reading translations. One was by a translator whose nameI forgot (and gladly so). The other was by Mr. Fitts. The first was asboring as the ininitiated would expect a Greek comedy to be. But Fittsversion, far truer to the original according to our professor, was totallybizarre and remarkably funny. It is as vibrant and eye-opening as Faglestranslations of Homer.

The Ultimate Aristophanes
"Whiiiine, I don't want to read old Greek plays...they're so booooring", you say?Well, you might think that is true, especially if one your teachers bludgeoned you with the horrible British translations of Aristophanes that were done in the nineteenth century.The Victorian prudes of the nineteenth century were deeply embarrassed by the content of the Greek comedies.They felt that penis jokes were not the sort of morally uplifting things that the ancients should have talked about. All that changes with the Dudley Fitts translation.Fitts bring life back to old Aristophanes.The pace is quick and the dialogue is hysterically funny.Aristophanes was the leading wit of his time.If you can imagine a mix of P.J. O'Rourke and Jim Carrey, then you'd be close to getting at Aristophanes. The humor is sharp and often over the top, often with very earthy overtones; essentially, Greek. You really haven't read Aristophanes until you've Fitts' "Aristophanes:F! our Comedies."This is a translation to be enjoyed by all and not to dreaded as a crime to assign and punishment to read. ... Read more